


Festival

by Tyrelingkitten



Series: x Days of OTPs [12]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: 27 Days of OTP, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-07 22:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrelingkitten/pseuds/Tyrelingkitten
Summary: Pre-series - Out of all the guys, Touko didn’t understand why she thought Shigeru was the one.





	Festival

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt - 27 days of otp // 17 - Dancing

 

 

Out of all the guys she had met, Touko didn’t understand why she thought Shigeru was the one.   
  
  
Shigeru wasn’t exactly her type. Sure he was tall, but he also had a bad form at the time of their first meeting. His shoulders were slouching. His back hunched over.  
  
  
Shigeru had floppy hair too. Dull, Touko remembered thinking. She only had eyes for the daring, bright hair colors that Shigeru’s friends had sported. One of them had resembled a foreign singer she used to admire.  
  
Also, Shigeru wasn’t much of a talker. He was very quiet when she and her friends had joined his group of friends during a summer festival at the temple. A friend through another friend of another friend. The details had escaped her memories after all the years. Touko remembered he only greeted them, introduced himself and the school he was attending -a high school a little farther from her home village-and then remained silent for the whole awkward, impromptu group night.  
  
Plus Shigeru’s face looked like it was stuck forever in a frown. A very unpleasant dark expression.  
  
While Touko and her friends had attempted to do small talk with Shigeru’s friends, Shigeru had lagged behind to avoid conversation until at one point he simply disappeared. With the festival getting crowded with each passing moment, it wasn't a surprise that he got separated from them.  
  
Touko wouldn’t have noticed his disappearance if it weren’t for Shigeru’s friends trying to pitch money together to buy snacks for Touko and her friends. Even though they weren’t exactly close friends, just mere acquaintances, everyone had all felt responsible for losing him in the crowd.  
  
The group had split off to look for the wayward Shigeru, agreeing to meet up at the performance tower where the taiko drums were playing.  


* * *

  
  
  
Touko wouldn’t have called it her luck back then when she found Shigeru lying stretched out on the grass field with his eyes closed, outside the crowded festival tents away from the common public paths.  
  
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” She had shouted above the noise of the crowd, almost accusing and crouched beside him, smoothing wrinkles from her cotton yukata.  
  
Shigeru hadn’t budged from his place on the ground.  
  
“Hey!” Touko had tried, wondering if she should call his name or not. What was it it again? “... are you okay?”  
  
One of her hands reached forward, intending to shake him awake. Touko hesitated. They weren’t close. They were practically strangers. And he was a guy! She shouldn’t be so forward…  
  
… but.  
  
Touko frowned. Shigeru wasn't moving much. Except, what seemed like, his chest rising and falling. Something she had seen her grandfather do whenever he wasn't feeling well. Lying down, stretched out and just breathing -shallow breathing, she had realized. As if he’s having trouble with his lungs.  
  
  
Alarmed, Touko swallowed her hesitation, her hand grabbed the shoulder and shook Shigeru. "Hey! Wake up! This is not a place you should sleep on!"  
  
  
Shigeru’s face had twitched, followed by a grimace when he finally opened his eyes. He had looked confused at first, rose up slowly to sit and Touko found herself staring into a guy’s eyes for the first time.  
  
  
Touko reared back out of reflex.  
  
  
Confusion crossed his expression as he tried to recall her face with a name, until he finally realized they had only just met.  
  
  
“Sorry.” He had smiled, embarrassed and the tips of his ears going red.  
  
  
“Why did you run off?”  
  
  
“Wasn’t feeling too well.” Shigeru had said. His hand reached up to rub over his chest then over his stomach. “Too much grease.”  
  
  
Touko noticed the grimace that crossed his face and the niggling worries in her stomach didn’t let up. “Are you sick? Do you need to go to the health center? I might not look it but I am strong enough to carry you over there. I used to be assist the health nurses.”  
  
  
Shigeru blinked his eyes at her several times and then laughed aloud. “I’m sure you can.” He had said with no incredulous inflection in his tone or scoffing Touko was used to hearing.  
  
  
He might not have stood out much upon their first meeting, but his laugh… wasn’t unpleasant. Touko turned her gaze away, focusing on the bright lights hanging above the temple grounds where the tents were set up.  
  
  
“If you’re still feeling okay, your friends have decided to meet up at the drum tower.” Touko told him and straightened herself from her crouch. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”  
  
  
“Yes.” Shigure nodded. “Thank you for looking after me.”  
  
  
She held out a hand to pull Shigeru back on his feet. Their walk to meet up with their friends had been slow. She had never been alone with a guy this long before. Touko thought it would be awkward to have him as company, to bump shoulders with him in the crowd.  
  
  
A glance to Shigure and Touko realized his mouth was moving, saying something.  
  
  
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She called out.  
  
  
“I said--have you eaten yet? Can I get you something to drink?”  
  
  
She was about to suggest that they look at the food offers first when the beats of the drum sounded much louder than before and the crowd parted. The surrounding unsuspecting people bumped shoulders and someone even stepped on Touko’s toes. Touko found her back pressed against Shigeru’s chest and the top of her head bumped his chin.  
  
  
A dancing train of festival goers moved through the center of the path in a slow crawl.  
Ahead of the dancing train were the taiko drummers, beating the familiar matsuri tune Touko had grown used to hearing. Followed right behind them were the dancers, dressed in beautiful, matching colorful garbs, showing easy steps of erratic hand movements, while the crowd who joined right behind the train attempted to do the same with mixed up moves.  
  
  
“Let’s join them.” Shigeru had said. His voice rumbled behind her back.  
  
  
“What?” Touko whipped her eyes around to face him.  
  
  
Shigeru gave her a mischievous smile. “We should join them.”  
  
  
Touko shook her head. “Oh no no! I can’t dance!”  
  
  
“Come on! It’s not so bad.”  
  
  
“It’s embarrassing!”  
  
  
“I know!” Shigeru grinned. “But it will be fun.”  
  
  
Shigeru held out his hand and smiled down at her expectantly.

 

 

 

**end**   
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Half way the fic I forgot why I wrote this in the first place ;;;
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
